The 'Las Tejedoras' (The Weavers) community bank is about to start its first loan cycle with Pro Mujer, as part of the Juan Pablo regional office. The bank has fourteen members and is managed by a board of directors, which is led by Leandra. The women are engaged in a range of different business activities which include: knitting blankets, selling food, grocery store, selling fruit, metalwork shop, sewing workshop, weaving, selling confectionery, carpentry workshop.

Leandra says that this is the first time she has worked with Pro Mujer. She joined through a promotional invitation. She current business is a neighborhood store and she has been working in this business for five years.

The loan that Leandra will receive will be used to increase her capital, buying soft drinks, beer, oil, rice and noodles, which she acquires wholesale in La Ceja and sells in her store every day. This work allows her to make money to support her family. She lives with her partner and has one daughter.

In the photograph, a sister of one of the members is accompanying the group. She is the lady in black.

Additional Information

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.